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The digest covers China's political, diplomatic, economic and other activities in the South Caucasus region and relations between China and the South Caucasus countries. It relies on a wide variety of sources, including the Chinese media. It is worth noting that the Chinese media is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (according to the World Press Freedom Index China is nearly at the bottom of the list and ranks 179th out of 180 countries)
Read the full publication: Chinese Embassy in Georgia publishes National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center's report that targets Georgia's Rose Revolution
A screenshot of the website page of the Chinese Embassy in Georgia. Source: The Chinese Embassy in Georgia
On May 4, the Chinese Embassy in Georgia published a document produced by the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center entitled "'Empire of Hacking': The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency — Part I". The publication contained a part that targeted Georgia's democratic Rose Revolution of 2003: "According to the statistics, the CIA has overturned or attempted to overturn at least 50 legitimate governments and created disturbances in other countries over the decades (Even though it has admitted only 7 of them.) such as the secret operations lead the disintegration of the socialist camp in 1980's, the "Velvet Revolution" in the early 1990s, the "Rose Revolution" in Georgia in 2003, the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine in 2004, the "Tulip Revolution" in Kyrgyzstan in 2005, the "Snow Revolution" in Belarus in 2005, the "Orange Storm" in Azerbaijan in 2005, the "Cedar Revolution" in Lebanon in 2005, the "Saffron Revolution" in Myanmar in 2007, the "Green Revolution" in Iran in 2009, the "Arab Spring" in West Asia and North Africa in 2011, the "Sunflower Movements" in Taiwan, China in 2014, and the second "Color Revolution" in Ukraine in 2014, etc".
Armenia's Investigative Committee Chairman and Chinese Ambassador agree to strengthen ties
A photo from the meeting. Source: Investigative Committee of Armenia
On April 26, the Chairman of Armenia's Investigative Committee Argishti Kyaramyan visited the Embassy of China to Armenia at the invitation of the Ambassador of China to Armenia, Fan Yong. At the meeting, Kyaramyan noted that his visit indicated the high level of Armenian-Chinese relations and expressed the trend of "deepening cooperation in the legal field". The Ambassador said that the Embassy was ready to "support the efforts to give a new quality to the relationship between the competent bodies of the two countries in the field of criminal justice". "Considering the expansion of the volume of goods turnover between Armenia and China in recent years, the parties have underlined especially the necessity to combine efforts of the law enforcement, and investigative bodies of the two countries in the fight against economic crimes," the Investigative Committee report said. The Ambassador stated that China could provide support to Armenia's Investigative Committee in capacity development of the Committee, exchange of experience in the fight against cybercrimes, money laundering, and other crimes of transnational nature. The two sides also agreed to strengthen ties by applying effective mechanisms for rapid response on issues of mutual interest.
Alat Free Economic Zone – New cooperation opportunities in Azerbaijan-China economic relations forum held in Beijing
A photo from the event. Source: Trend
A business forum "Alat Free Economic Zone – New cooperation opportunities in Azerbaijan-China economic relations" was held in Beijing, China, Trend reported on May 5. More than 100 Chinese companies participated in the event, organized by the Embassy of Azerbaijan in China, the Alat Free Economic Zone Authority, and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME). Zhang Yujing, the President of CCCME, talked about "the wide cooperation opportunities" between Azerbaijan and CCCME and noted that the member companies of the Chamber and the Chinese investors would be provided with information about the established favorable business environment in Alat Free Economic Zone (AFEZ). Valeh Alasgarov, the Chairman of the Board of the Alat Free Economic Zone Authority, made a presentation about the AFEZ saying that the AFEZ was one of the important parts of the general policy of Azerbaijan government, which aimed "to ensure the balanced development of the knowledge-based, diversified, export-oriented and internationally competitive economy". Among other things the Chairman said that the businesses "engaged in high-value-added export-oriented manufacturing and internationally traded services, using innovative technologies and approaches to work, in accordance with best international standards", were welcome in the AFEZ, and invited the Chinese investors to get acquainted with the business environment offered by the AFEZ. Akram Zeynalli, the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to China, also delivered a speech.
Georgian State Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality met with the Chinese Ambassador
A photo from the meeting. Source: Office of the State Minister of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civil Equality
On April 28, Georgian State Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality, Thea Akhvlediani, held an introductory meeting with the Ambassador of China to Georgia, Zhou Qian. Reportedly, the parties emphasized "the successful cooperation" between Georgia and China in the trade and economic sphere. According to the Office of the State Minister report, the Ambassador confirmed China's "firm position towards the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within the internationally recognized borders". The sides expressed readiness for further cooperation.
Armenian communists hope to learn from the China-style development
A photo from the meeting. Source: The Embassy of China to Armenia
On April 28, the Chinese Ambassador to Armenia Fan Yong met with the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia Yerjanik Ghazaryan. The military secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia and the military attaché of the Chinese Embassy attended the meeting. Reportedly, the Armenian communists "highly appreciated a number of new achievements of the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China headed by its core comrade Xi Jinping in the building of socialism with Chinese characteristics of the new era" and also expressed hope to "learn lessons from successful experience development modernization in Chinese style". The parties exchanged views on strengthening inter-party exchanges and promoting the development of Sino-Armenian relations, and discussed the situation in the region.
AIIB and the Georgian Ambassador to China agreed to activate coordinated work
A photo from the meeting. Source: The Embassy of Georgia in China
On April 27, the President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Jin Liqun, and Vice President Ludger Schuknecht held a meeting with the Ambassador of Georgia to China, Archil Kalandia, as well as with the Ambassadors of Turkey and Pakistan in Beijing, the Georgian Embassy in China reported. During the meeting, the perspectives of bilateral cooperation were discussed and the parties agreed to activate coordinated work.
China and Azerbaijan have excellent relations, Aliyev says
A photo from the conference. Source: Azertac
The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, said that Azerbaijan and China had excellent relations, Azertac reported on May 3. "I'd like to say that we have excellent relations between China and Azerbaijan. I met the President of China Xi Jinping many times. And during one of our meetings, he called me a good friend of China. So I think only this is enough to demonstrate the level of our cooperation," Aliyev said at the 4th international conference on Shaping the Geopolitics of the Greater Eurasia: from Past to Present to Future organized by ADA University.
8% of Georgians consider China the most important economic partner for Georgia - IRI poll
Source: IRI
On April 25, the International Republican Institute (IRI) published a survey on public opinion in Georgia. On the question of which of the named countries a responder considered the most important political partners for Georgia, 3% said that it was China. 2% consider that China poses the greatest political threat to Georgia. 8% of Georgian residents consider China the most important economic partner for Georgia, while 2% think that China poses the greatest economic threat to Georgia. Multiple responses were permitted for all the questions. The data was collected throughout Georgia between March 4 and 23, 2023.
Azertac representative participates in a Xinhua-organized media tour
A photo from the event. Source: Azertac
China's state news agency Xinhua organized a media tour for foreign journalists accredited in the country to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Azertac's employee was one of the participants, Azertac reported on April 29. "The media tour aims to provide participants with detailed information about socio-economic development projects, economic reforms, the lifestyle of the local population, cultural diversity, nature and tourism potential of the People's Republic of China," the report said.
Chinese Ambassador to Armenia attended the opening ceremony of the Chinese language classroom in Yerevan
A photo from the event. Source: The Embassy of China to Armenia
On April 28, the Chinese Ambassador to Armenia, Fan Yong, attended the opening ceremony of the new subunit Chinese language classroom of the Confucius Institute of the Armenian Brusov State University, at the N173 School in Yerevan, Armenia, the Embassy of China to Armenia reported. Reportedly, among others, representatives of the Yerevan municipal government and district government attended the event.
Armenian scholar publishes another pro-Beijing article in Chinese state media On May 28, the Chairman of the Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies in Yerevan, Armenia, Benyamin Poghosyan, published another pro-Beijing article entitled in Chinese state-controlled China Daily "Playing second fiddle - Being the junior partner of the US in the emerging new world order is not in Europe's best interests". Poghosyan claimed the following: "As the US took the lead in pushing forward the West's economic and military support to Ukraine, it seems that Europe has had no other choice than to accept US supremacy and rally behind the US, not only on Ukraine but on all other major issues, including the US policy toward China". According to him, "facing the tough economic challenges due to the conflict in Ukraine and the US efforts to strengthen the US economy at the expense of Europe, economic decoupling with China is a non-starter for Europe". Poghosyan wrote that Europe needed "sound geopolitical analysis to avoid being downgraded into the US' junior partner", who followed "the US' orders regardless of the implications".
Chinese Ambassador to Azerbaijan and BHOS Rector discuss prospects of cooperation between BHOS and a Chinese University
A photo from the meeting. Source: Trend
The Chinese Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Guo Min visited the Baku Higher Oil School of SOCAR (BHOS), Trend reported on April 25. BHOS Rector, Elmar Gasimov told the Ambassador that Baku Higher Oil School was ready to cooperate with higher education institutions in China. Guo Min spoke about the prospects for the development of cooperation between BHOS and Chinese universities. She discussed the prospects of cooperation between the China University of Petroleum in Beijing and Baku Higher Oil School. The two sides also exchanged views about the possibilities for joint cooperation, and exchange of students and faculty members, pledging "to start real work as soon as possible". |
